Here, Rosemary Albone from Care.com offers some top tips for activities you can do with your children over the Easter holiday to keep them happy, learning and creative, without breaking the bank

Easter is just around the corner and whilst we welcome the long break to spend more quality time with our families, the unpredictable British weather can leave us feeling a little stir crazy, stuck at home.

Rosemary Albone, online care provider Care.com’s resident Nanny expert, knows only too well how challenging it can sometimes be to keep the little ones entertained.

Here, Rosemary offers some top tips for activities you can do with your children over the Easter holiday to keep them happy, learning and creative, and that won’t break the bank.

1. Have an ‘Indoor Holiday’ - a Staycation in Your Own Lounge

Set up a (small!) pop up tent, or create a den under the table, or get creative and build your own structure. Encourage the children to pack what they need and move in, at least for an afternoon. You can teach children all about the great outdoors without setting foot outside.

2. Plan an Easter Show

Plan with egg related jokes and stories about the Easter Bunny - great fun for getting children to think about words and stories and get creative. Perhaps you can write a story script together, asking the children to make decisions on the storyline and ending. Then act it out for the rest of the family.

3. Decorate Your Own Eggs

We all know that painting and decorating eggs (real or cardboard) can be a fun activity to do together; tune into everyone’s creative side and use interesting materials as decorations.

Set your children the challenge of finding things around your home and in the garden to use as decoration. Find a small tree branch that can be safely cut and brought inside to hang your decorated eggs on to make an Easter tree.

4. Plan a Walk - Whatever the Weather

Physical exercise is good for everyone and safe exposure to sunlight enables the body to make vitamin D. Let your children:

- Plan the route, drawing it out on a homemade map with significant local points located on it (schools, shops, the library, friends’ homes etc).

- Photograph interesting things on the route, then make a storyboard or story book with the photos when you get back home.

- Set a challenge to achieve on the walk, such as finding 5 specific things (stones, signposts, numbers on front doors, sticks, fallen leaves, something red and so on).

- Choose and create a picnic to enjoy on the walk to get them engaged in selecting and making the meal too.

5. Have a Tea Party

As a family, think about inviting a neighbour or occasional acquaintance to tea. We know that the long bank holiday can feel a lengthy lonely time for some people; help your children understand that kindness is easy. They could even make an invitation and help with deciding what to have and making the food.

6. Seek an egg-stra pair of hands

Spending time with your family is a wonderful part of the Easter holidays, but you may have other things you need to get done – such as preparing an Easter lunch or even tackling some home repairs that need done while you have time off work. Care.com offers short-term care solution from baby sitters to cleaners who can provide some extra support.